If you’ve read my post on photography cliches, you’ll know that I warn beginners against shooting sunsets. Part of the reason for this is that there are much better things to be shooting at that time of day.

When you’ve got a good subject, the soft evening light will flatter their features. This will make for some really cool natural light photography.

The photo below was shot in the evening with no direct light from the sun. The dynamic range has vastly improved because of it.

Angle of Light & Location

So we’ve established the best time to shoot. You’re now left with three main options.

The first and most obvious option in regards to the angle of the light is to have it shine straight onto the subject. This provides very good outdoor photography lighting.

In the photo below, the sun went down over my right shoulder. You can see how the soft evening light floods over my models face, casting a warm glow.

Because the sun was low in the sky, there were no big and nasty shadows beneath the chin either. I like this photo but there are better angles to shoot the light from.

Shooting into the sun allows you some interesting lens flare. This produces some really cool shots. Here, the lighting on the face relied on the natural light still around in the sky.

And it overexposed the lens flare so that the face was not underexposed. I achieved this using spot metering.

This photo is softer than the one above as the shadows are more subtle on the face. And the flare that floods the photo makes an interesting outdoor portrait.

If you’re dealing with indoor photography lighting, we’re mostly talking about light coming through a window. Whether the subject is near one or not.

Part of the reason why these photos look so soft is that the photographer is stuck using a wider aperture. This is because they need to capture enough light for a well-exposed picture.

The photo below was set to f/2.8, which was all the way open on my lens. You can tell that it was very naturally lit. I still would have preferred some lighter conditions.

Natural light can be the best way to light a subject, yet there are problems when shooting indoor photography.

How Will Weather Influence Your Natural Light Photos

A common mistake beginners make is thinking that they can’t go out shooting when it’s raining or overcast.

This might be the best time for natural light photography actually.

This is a myth. Overcast lighting is much easier to work with and can produce equally interesting photos. For outdoor photography portraits, this is a great tip.

Take the photo below for example. It evokes feelings such as bleakness and coldness. These are feelings that prove a lot harder to evoke in bright sun.

The similarity between the colour of the sky and sea on an overcast day gives this photo a lot of its strength.

Always check the weather forecast before you go out shooting. If there’s going to be rain followed by some bright sunshine, this is a great time to shoot landscapes. Here, shadows cast by the clouds can be captured.

The photo below would have been boring had it not been for the dynamic changes in the green colour. These help to emphasise the bumpy nature of the hills ahead.

This is a very basic example of what I’m talking about; have a play for yourself and link us to some of your results. You’ll find that outdoor photography using natural light is the only way forward.

No matter the weather, photos taken under evening light all start to look very similar. Not only do the brightness and dynamics change but so does the colour.

When the sky bounces light off the surfaces on the ground, the colour of the entire scene starts to change. This is shown in the photo below. I shot this on a slightly overcast evening, just before the sun went down.

How to Diffuse Natural Light

If you find yourself in unfavourable photography lighting conditions, using the sun or the flash on your camera, always try to diffuse the light by whatever means possible.

There are countless ways of doing this but I thought I’d show you one of my favourite techniques. I like to use the woods. The leaves reduce the amount of light reaching your subject. But they still provide gaps for direct light.

In my photo below, the woods were well protected from the harsh sun. But they still allowed enough light through to illuminate the woods.

The model positioned herself by a tree and stretched her legs out, lit by the ambient light of the woods. She leaned forward so the light was shining on to her face, producing a diffused effect.

This resulted in one of my favourite photos of the set. Here it is. As you can see, this is one of the best outdoor photography tips when using natural light.

And before you go, check out this video for better natural light portraits.

A note from Josh, ExpertPhotography's Photographer-In-Chief:

Thank you for reading...

CLICK HERE if you want to capture breathtaking images, without the frustration of a complicated camera.

It's my training video that will walk you how to use your camera's functions in just 10 minutes - for free!

I also offer video courses and ebooks covering the following subjects:

You could be just a few days away from finally understanding how to use your camera to take great photos!

Thanks again for reading our articles!

Josh

Hey I'm Josh, I'm Photographer in Chief here at ExpertPhotography, and I'm in charge of making sure that we provide you with the best content from the most knowledgeable photographers in the world. Enjoy the site :)